November

So far in the month of November, Carnegie Mellon Media Relations has counted hundreds of references to the university in worldwide publications. Here is a sample.

Why you keep playing the lottery | CNN.com

November 28

In 2008, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University attempted to explain why the poor are more likely to buy lottery tickets. The study, published in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, theorized that people focus on the cost-to-benefit ratio of a single ticket rather than add up the long-term cost of playing over a year, or a lifetime.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/15/health/psychology-playing-lottery-powerball/index.html

What Makes Dickens a Lousy Running Buddy? | The Wall Street Journal

November 27

While researchers haven't specifically focused on the effects of both activities, other forms of multitasking offer clues as to possible detriments. For example, in studying how cellphone conversations impact drivers, Marcel Just, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, found that as soon as someone starts listening to a voice on the phone, their skills behind the wheel stall. "The brain activity that was there for driving decreases by as much as 37%, says Dr. Just.

Global Steel Industry Faces Capacity Glut | The Wall Street Journal

November 27

The steel industry owes its fractured nature, in part, to its historic role as an economic engine. "No nation has ever industrialized without developing its own steel industry," said David Hounshell, a professor of industrial history at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Each region had its own mill to supply local industries. Once built, they become a source of jobs, which were protected with tariffs and subsidies. "The end result is always a lot of overcapacity," Mr. Hounshell said.

"You get unforeseen consequences" when pursuing unorthodox policies, said Allan Meltzer, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh and author of a two-volume history of the Fed.

Who Made That Emoticon? | The New York Times

November 23

“The first line of my obituary is going to mention the smiley face,” says Scott Fahlman, who would rather be remembered for his research into artificial intelligence. But like it or not, Fahlman has become famous for three keystrokes. In 1982, as a young professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he realized the need for a symbol to temper the bickering that plagued online forums.

More Afghan land cultivated for opium poppies, U.N. finds | Los Angeles Times

November 21

Such "hiccups" in opium production may not necessarily impact markets because Afghans sometimes keep inventories to cover weak years, said Jonathan P. Caulkins, a public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. There is no good data on how big those inventories are, he said.

Opinion: How Far Away Is Mind-Machine Integration? | Scientific American

November 20

My most astonishing discovery came at Carnegie Mellon University, where Marcel Just and Tom Mitchell have been using real-time functional MRI scanners to do some actual mind reading—or thought recognition, as they more responsibly call it.

Mission to explore caves on Mars intrigues scientists | NBCNews.com

November 20

The actual cavern exploration would require technological advances as well. Cave rovers would have to be far more autonomous than their surface brethren, for example, since overlying rock would decrease the ability to communicate with Earth, said roboticist Red Whittaker, of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

"What Will The Future Be Like?" | PBS "NOVA scienceNow"

November 15

This episode features two CMU research projects. Dietrich College faculty member Marcel Just and SCS faculty member Tom Mitchell discuss their thought identification research while New York Times technology columnist David Pogue visits CMU's Scientific Imaging and Brain Research Center. In addition, SCS faculty member Adrien Treuille discusses EteRNA, a research project that uses online game play to explore RNA design. Treuille leads the project with Stanford University faculty member Rhiju Das and SCS doctoral student and Jeehyung Lee.

Female Developers and Athletes Take the Leading Role at espnW Hack Day | Wired.com

November 13

Kathryn Thomas, an IT grad student at Carnegie Mellon University, agreed. "It's empowering to see a bunch of women collectively working on the same thing. Our classes really are dominated by guys. It's a good feeling to be around people that are like you and have shared interests," she said.

Predicting Presidents, Storms and Life by Computer | Associated Press/ABC.com

November 10

Computers soon should be able to tell health officials where the next food poisoning outbreak will spread, a U.S. government lab predicts.Tom Mitchell, head of the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University, called computer model predictions based on historical evidence "one of more positive trends we're going to see this century. ... We're just beginning."

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say a water quality problem in the Monongahela River that may have been linked to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling is going away. Jeanne VanBriesen said Thursday that preliminary data from tests this year showed that levels of salty bromides in the river have declined significantly when compared to 2010 and 2011. In many cases the bromides were at undetectable levels this year, and in general they returned to normal levels.

In Flooded New Jersey, No Oversight For Levees | NPR's "All Things Considered"

November 1

The flooding brought by Sandy will inevitably bring calls for more flood-protection systems. David Dzombak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, chaired a committee for the National Research Council that evaluated the state of flood management systems in the U.S. He says it's not enough to just build new levees and floodgates to protect communities. "Once you build this hard infrastructure, there has to be a commitment, and hopefully now a commitment upfront, of putting dollars aside to maintaining it forever," he says.